The Company:

Our client is a family office headquartered in the Midwest region of the United States. The family has built a successful vertically integrated national real estate solutions enterprise with a proven track record of delivering large-scale master planning, and real estate development projects for healthcare, professional sports, academic, and public & private entities for nearly 35 years. Their proven track record and demonstrated expertise enable them to solve complex real estate problems on behalf of their clients, which foster long-standing client relationships. The family office’s culture is based on high ethical standards, mutual respect, strong work ethic, strong leadership, commitment to excellence, and disciplined fiduciary responsibilities. The organization looks for team members that are dedicated, talented and supportive of their peers. 

The Opportunity:

Our client is looking for a Controller to oversee all financial aspects of a growing family office, including managing accounting operations, monitoring investments, preparing financial statements, managing tax compliance, and providing financial oversight to the family to aid in decision-making. They seek a leader who is intellectually curious, capable of problem solving and working autonomously, committed, interested in developing a wide skill set, and growing alongside the family office’s continued expansion.  The Controller is also expected to maintain a high level of confidentiality.

This position reports to the Managing Principal, and is a dotted line to the Chairman, with one individual reporting to the Controller.

Job Definition/Characteristics:

The Controller will have responsibility over cash management, financial reporting functions, income tax compliance, recordkeeping and portfolio monitoring of the family investments. This role requires close collaboration with various family members as well as other internal company stakeholders.  The Controller provides accounting, tax and financial expertise while serving as a key contact for the family’s professional service teams, including investment managers, attorneys, banks, financial services, CPA’s and various tax specialists. The ideal candidate will have experience in accounting, tax, investments, portfolio management and private family/family office operations. A commitment to excellence, responsiveness, and delivering high-quality work that anticipates and exceeds the family’s needs is essential.

Summary of Key Responsibilities:

• Establishes and maintains policies, procedures, and best practices for all accounting functions, including cash management, banking, accounts payable and general ledger.
• Plans and directs timely preparation and reporting of monthly financial statements across a variety of investment holdings.
• Oversees and performs tax reporting.
• Prepares and performs reviews of financial statements, reconciliations, budgets, cash flows and other financial information as applicable to the Family Office, and as requested by management.
• Conducts cash management and investing duties; monitor performance and optimize returns of banking and investment accounts; forecast amounts and timing of cash liquidity needs; prepares capital calls for management to fund operating cash needs of the various Family Office entities.
• Develops and maintains a reliable cash flow projection process to ensure cash availability to meet the working capital needs of the Family Office entities.
• Manages and serves as the point of contact for various banking and investment relationships.
• Monitors, evaluates, and advises on the fiscal performance of entities against budget and forecast.
• Directs and manages accounting functions daily, with an understanding of workload and priorities. Makes necessary recommendations for process changes and improvements. Works with Shared Services to review monthly financial statements and annual operating budgets; provides accounting support as needed.
• Maintains a digital system of detailed, accurate and complete accounting records of Family Office investments.
• Ensures that all income tax payments, income tax returns and other filings are made on a timely basis. Collect information required for entity and individual income tax returns and provide it to accountants.
• Works closely with accountants to understand income tax consequences of various transactions, tax savings opportunities, and trust and estate planning matters; provide tax projections and entity budgets for use in preparing quarterly tax estimates; provide additional information as requested. Performs other duties and special projects as assigned or requested by others.
• This position will mentor the junior team member and plan, assign, and review work. Additionally, they will evaluate performance and carry out supervisory duties in accordance with the company’s policies, procedures, and applicable laws.

Leadership and Management:

• Establish credibility and strong relationships with family members, external advisors (investment managers, lawyers, accountants), and banking relationships.
• Communicate financial information clearly and effectively to the family.
• Collaborate closely with other finance and accounting personnel across the platform. 

• Expand and maintain a strong network of external partners; monitors, evaluates, and advises on the fiscal performance of entities against budgets and forecasts. Take initiative to provide strategic recommendations for investment decisions.

The Requirements:

• Experience supporting a family office or family enterprise with accounting experience in a multi-entity environment (complex organization structures) is required.
• Minimum of 10 years of accounting, financial, and income tax experience with a strong understanding of investment management principles.
• Familiarity with various investment vehicles and strategies is a plus.
• Must operate with integrity, be highly organized, and self-motivated, demonstrating both a hands-on approach and a “Big Picture” mindset.
• Stellar work ethic and must be proactive with strong analytical and process management skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively across the family office platform and with external partners.
• Must demonstrate reliability and trustworthiness, and an ability to maintain confidentiality of Family matters.
• Ability to organize and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, and Windows applications. Experience with accounting systems (e.g., Yardi, QuickBooks, etc.) is preferred.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting/finance.
• CPA accreditation required.

MBA or Masters of Tax accreditation is a plus.

All Inquiries Should Be Sent Via Email

Email: nicole@hohauser.com